By Nayha Bano Khan,
SEPLAA Summer Intern, 2015.
Throughout the past recent years, Pakistan has been a country where attacks and protests have been the talk of the day, daily newspapers have been sprinkled with devastating reports, and television and magazine headlines highlight an extremely sorry state of affairs in the country. This series of adverse events has led to nothing except creating bridges between communities of people, wiping out peaceful relations, and simply creating a society built up upon mistrust and negativity.
However, from my observation, there have been a number of notable changes in the behaviors of Pakistanis, and the local society in general, during this Holy month. A silent wave of peace has rolled out within the country and people can be seen trying their best to follow the guidelines their religion has set out for them, and stick to their customs. This indeed, has led to building a more peaceful society, or country, if being looked at as a bigger picture. Most people have been striving to fast regularly even in this stifling heat, and keenly observe all five of their daily prayers. This has led to inner peace being built up within individuals which abstains them from indulging in wrong behavior that eventually would have ended up bringing harm to others and producing turmoil in society.
Ramadan has clearly succeeded in surfacing a bevy of more optimistic and placid Pakistanis.The plethora of restaurants advertising ‘Sehri’ and ‘Iftaari’ deals and buffet menus, through every source of social media they can lay their hands on, cannot be ignored. When friends and family members go out together to enjoy a hearty meal whether it is at the crack of dawn or the fall of dusk, they come out of the restaurant feeling happy and relaxed. Not only does this help improve family relations but it also helps produce happier, more satisfied individuals by the end of the day.
Ramadan activities, which include helping out the less unfortunate by handing out food boxes and planning ‘iftaaris’ for them etc, instills self satisfaction within individuals and give them a peek into the real world. This produces a more grateful set of individuals who begin to realize how important it is to count their blessings, and by reaching out to the impoverished community, a more harmonious society is built.
Nayha is an A’ Level student at the Lahore Grammar School, Defence.